Nonstop flight route between Helsinki / Vantaa, Finland and Des Moines, Iowa, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Helsinki Airport (HEL), Helsinki / Vantaa, Finland and Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,596 miles (or 7,396 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Helsinki Airport and Des Moines International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Helsinki Airport and Des Moines International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Helsinki Airport (HEL):

• Helsinki Airport (HEL) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Helsinki Airport (HEL) is Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SSE of HEL.
• The following handling agents provide ground handling services for airlines:Airpro, Inter Handling, ISS Aviation, Servisair, Groundpower, Swissport.
• The airport is nominally divided into 2 terminals, located 250 metres apart and linked by an internal pedestrian connection both airside and landside.
• The construction of the Ring Rail Line rail link to the airport was started in May 2009, with an opening for traffic projected for mid-2015.
• In addition to being known as "Helsinki Airport", another name for HEL is "Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasemaHelsingfors-Vanda flygplats".
• Coach connections, daytime and overnight, to all parts of Finland are provided by Matkahuolto and ExpressBus.
• Because of Helsinki Airport's relatively low elevation of 179 feet, planes can take off or land at Helsinki Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• Helsinki Airport handled 15,279,043 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Helsinki Airport (HEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,992 miles (17,689 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Des Moines International Airport (DSM):

• The airport hosts the Des Moines Air National Guard Base and 132d Fighter Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard.
• On December 2, 1978, Douglas C-47A N41447 of SMB Stage Line crashed short of the runway while on a cargo flight from Chicago, Illinois.
• The furthest airport from Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,789 miles (17,363 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Des Moines International Airport's relatively low elevation of 958 feet, planes can take off or land at Des Moines International Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• Interior renovation work began in 2009 on the airport and concluded in 2010.
• Des Moines International Airport (DSM) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Ankeny Regional Airport (IKV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNE of DSM.